Collective Gasp

Collective Gasp

Article excerpt

CLEVELAND -- The Knicks were already struggling through a so-
ugly-you-had-to-laugh performance, getting humiliated by the
Cavaliers in the second quarter, when Carmelo Anthony took a pass in
the open floor just shy of midcourt.

As he caught the ball, he appeared to trip over his own feet,
tumbling to the ground as the Quicken Loans Arena crowd laughed. But
Anthony didn't get up as play continued at the other end of the
court. He finally rose, but never stopped at the bench and headed
straight to the locker room, where word filtered out that he
aggravated a lingering right-knee injury.

While the Knicks have struggled with the expected assortment of
bumps and bruises with their aging roster, the sight of Anthony on
the ground is enough to cause major concern. While he has his flaws,
he still carries the team's hopes on his shoulders and shooting
touch.

At least the absence of Anthony didn't signal disaster and
actually seemed to spur them on as the Knicks overcame a 22-point
deficit at the time of the injury and survived for a 102-97 win over
the Cavaliers. But for the long run, the Knicks are facing a future
as uncertain as the status of their star's right knee.

While the rest of the team dressed, Anthony slipped out of the
training room and paused briefly in the catacombs of the arena to
answer questions, but with little clarity. He didn't injure the knee
for the first time on that play, having endured pain for weeks and
undergoing an MRI in recent days.

"Before the game, I felt like I was like dragging my right leg.
And maybe that one particular possession, I didn't really have the
control that I wanted out of that leg and kind of tripped over my
other leg."

"One time he wanted to come out," Knicks coach Mike Woodson said.
"So obviously, it was bothering him a little bit. He never asks to
come out of a game."

The Knicks will learn more today with a day off in Detroit, but
Anthony said the MRI he underwent did not reveal any damage. He had
tests conducted by team doctors when he left the game Monday.